Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 473 Suicide
"Wang Zhongliu...shangzhi"

"One thousand, seven hundred and twenty-five jins, and one hundred and seventy-two and a half jins of grain harvested."

"Wu Cun'er...shangzhi"

At the end of September, when the Northern Expeditionary Army conquered the great lords of Taiping, Batu Polo and other Wala lords in Mobei, the tax payment process after the autumn harvest was also going on in Qingchuan Village, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province.

Qingchuan Village is located next to the post road. There are many small rivers passing through it, so local agriculture is developed.

In a place like this, honest people are needed to collect taxes and handle affairs, and Qingchuan Village Grain Chief Cheng Huiyuan is such a person.

In an environment where grassroots officials have been deprived of money all year round, there is no doubt that Cheng Huiyuan is a dull and pragmatic person.

In the three years since his arrival, the people of Qingchuan Village have not been harshly criticized by the grain chief, and the taxes on output are the same.

Just like now, when other villages are slightly complaining about paying taxes, the villagers here are actively lining up to pay taxes.

There was a queue in front of a four-foot-long and wide scale. Two villagers spontaneously came to carry and distribute the grain. Cheng Huiyuan, the grain chief, sat aside and recorded the number of acres, output, and revenue of each household with a brush. Pay taxes, grain, etc.

There are 86 households in Qingchuan Village, with a population of 527 and a farmland of 3,860 acres.

Now the value of an acre of peanuts is only four to five hundred cash, which is about the same as grain.

"Well, could you please call a dozen more people tomorrow? Then I will take the village hall's carriage to pull food."

He personally helped the two people store the food in the warehouse, and then invited them to eat.

During the 16 years since the New Deal was implemented in Shandong, most people under the age of thirty have had five years of education, but the illiteracy rate is higher among those over thirty.

Although young, the children of poor people have already become rich.

It is inconvenient to store meat in rural areas, and it takes too much time to kill chickens. Moreover, a chicken costs more than 30 yuan, and a meal of more than 30 yuan is a bit of a luxury even for Cheng Huiyuan.

"Chief Cheng Liang, let's go then. Tomorrow morning, we will bring someone to help you collect tax grains from Kong Xiucai's house."

But if you plant more, oil prices will naturally come down.

There are millions of acres of peanut-growing fields in Shandong Province. Therefore, the vegetable oil supply in Shandong has dropped from thirty cents per catty to ten cents per catty in less than three years.

"Eat more so you can be more energetic tomorrow..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Huiyuan walked into the village office and started tinkering.

While joking, it was getting dark.

But they never complain, because life is so much better now than before.

One of them is currently being ridden by him to see a doctor, and the other is a draft horse used for work. He will rely on it to collect taxes and grain tomorrow.

Although Shandong produces a lot of oil, there is nothing we can do if the oil cannot be transported out.

"Okay, the statistics are almost there, the only thing missing is Kong Sheng's land tax."

The head of Qingchuan Village went to the county for medical treatment because of illness. He and Cheng Huiyuan raised several chickens, two pigs, and two horses behind the village office.

Cheng Huiyuan nodded, then smiled at the two of them: "You have been working for a day, now I will cook for you."

Although Cheng Huiyuan is only twenty-three or four years old, he is knowledgeable after all.

"No need to do it, we can just go home and eat for a while..."

Seeing what Cheng Huiyuan said, the two of them waved their hands quickly, and Cheng Huiyuan also smiled and said: "Sir, you move the food first, and it will be done soon."

In this land of Shandong, new crops cannot be said to be everywhere, but many families will set aside land to grow new crops, especially peanuts.

In a market where the price of oil is 30 cents per pound, the oil produced from an acre of peanuts is worth only 5 cents. Many people even grow peanuts specifically to sell the oil.

At this time, the hundreds of people who originally lined up in a long queue had already left the drying field with their families, leaving only two young adults who were responsible for helping.

Of course, this is only the oil price in Shandong, not the oil price in the entire Ming Dynasty.

"Go slowly, be careful, don't sleep on the field ridge."

Although the Hongwu period was more comfortable than the Zhizheng period, compared with the Hongxi period, it was far worse.

This is the situation in this era. Resources in many places are cheap because they cannot be transported, while other places have no resources and are expensive.

As a crop that can produce 120 kilograms per acre of land and squeeze out nearly 50 kilograms of oil, peanuts have been widely planted by coastal people once they were introduced.

At this moment, they were carrying tax grains into the warehouse. When they heard Cheng Huiyuan's words, they wiped their sweat and said:
"Chief Cheng Liang, I'm afraid the two of us don't have enough food for Scholar Kong. Why don't we call in a few more people tomorrow?"

Because of this, the construction of railways is particularly important.

After wiping the sweat from his forehead, Cheng Huiyuan, who had been doing it all day long from morning to dusk, finally showed a smile.

In an era when three acres per person is considered a poor household, Qingchuan Village does not have a small amount of arable land, but...

Due to the lag in news, many places have not yet started planting peanuts on a large scale, and oil prices in many places are still high.

Cheng Huiyuan tidied up the tables, chairs and benches, swept the yard, poured the remaining food into a bucket, added a few kilograms of sweet potatoes, and carried it to the pig pen behind the village office.

Because oil is cheap, they can eat more oil-intensive dishes such as tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and fried peanuts.

The common people helped weigh the grains filled with sacks. After getting the results, they divided the grains and paid taxes according to the tax amount of one out of ten.

"That won't happen...hahaha!"

Drinking rice wine and eating eggs and peanuts, the three of them soon started chatting.

Not long after, he moved the table to the yard and placed three dishes: fried peanuts, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and fried vegetables, as well as a small bowl of rice. At the same time, he took out a pot of rice wine, three wine bowls, and three sets of rice wine. Tableware.

After feeding the draft horse a pound of beans and adding a bunch of fodder, Cheng Huiyuan returned to the village hall to rest.

Early the next morning, he took his draft horse to Kong Xiucai's home, which was located beside the Qingshui River in Qingchuan Village.

As a scholar, Kong Sheng had considerable family assets. Among the 3,860 acres of cultivated land in Qingchuan Village, nearly 1,200 acres belonged to him.

Of course, these fields may not necessarily be his, but they must be managed by him.

With these fields, Kong Sheng lived a very comfortable life. A three-in-one courtyard covering an area of ​​one acre was enough to represent his strength.

In Qingchuan Village, he rented farmland to villagers for farming, and charged 30% of the land rent per mu of land in accordance with the court regulations.

In the past two years, Cheng Huiyuan had to come to the door every year to urge him, and he reluctantly handed over the taxes and rations.

It's not like he didn't try to bribe Cheng Huiyuan, but Cheng Huiyuan didn't accept this trick.

As in previous years, this year Cheng Huiyuan personally came to urge him to pay taxes and grains, but this time Kong Sheng put on a bigger show.

After knocking on the door, Cheng Huiyuan and more than a dozen young people from the village waited at the door for half an hour before he saw Kong Sheng washed up and well-dressed walking to the gate of his yard.

He was quite talented in appearance, fair and comely, which was in sharp contrast to the dark appearance of Cheng Huiyuan and others.

There are seven or eight servants under him, and there is also a steward who follows him.

When he reached the door, he stood on the steps and looked down at Cheng Huiyuan: "Mr. Cheng Liang, I'm sorry, my land now belongs to the Shenggong Mansion. It belongs to the imperial court and does not need to pay taxes."

Kong Sheng moved out of Yanshenggong's mansion, which inevitably caused many people behind Cheng Huiyuan to underestimate him.

They had long thought that Kong Sheng had a relationship with Duke Yansheng's Mansion, but they didn't expect that the relationship would reach such a deep level.

For a moment, everyone couldn't help but retreat.

"According to the Ming Dynasty Laws, in the past, land grants also required payment of land tax. The same tax was one per ten. Not to mention Duke Yansheng's Palace, even the Prince's Palace had to pay taxes!"

Cheng Huiyuan is very stubborn, and the words "eat the soft and not the hard" are perfect to describe him.

But no matter what Kong Sheng said, he had to pay the tax today, no matter who was standing behind him.

"Haha... Cheng Huiyuan, if I give you a job, do you think you are special?"

Kong Sheng took out a piece of letter paper from his arms: "Look for yourself, whose handwriting this is!"

He threw the letter on the ground, and Cheng Huiyuan didn't feel humiliated. He lowered his head and knelt down to pick it up.

This handwriting was written by the magistrate of Ningyang. What it said was that Kong Sheng would not have to pay taxes and grain.

Facing this handwritten letter, Cheng Huiyuan folded it in half and put it in his arms, saying neither humble nor overbearing:
"This handwriting does not have the official seal of Ningyang County, so it doesn't work with me."

"As for this handwriting, I will submit it to the Yamen of Yanzhou Prefecture afterwards and ask the prefect if this handwriting is of any use..."

"Your mother's maid!" Kong Sheng heard this and cursed: "Cheng Huiyuan, I think you are offering a toast instead of eating the wine as a penalty!"

"I don't care what the wine is. Anyway, today you either have to pay taxes, or I use the name of tax resistance to ask the soldiers and horses of Yanzhou Prefecture, or the soldiers and horses of Ningyang Qianhu Station to help you pay taxes!"

Cheng Huiyuan was neither humble nor arrogant, and his expression made Kong Sheng furious.

Cheng Huiyuan did not mention the Ningyang County Military and Horse Department because he knew that the handwriting was indeed the handwriting of the Ningyang County Magistrate, and it was obvious that the other party was in cahoots with Kong Sheng.

But even so, this matter is non-negotiable.

He is an official and is directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel. Unless the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Punishment convict him and fire him, even the magistrate of Ningyang will not be able to deal with him.

"Okay, okay...I think you've really had enough!"

Kong Sheng suppressed his temper, but Cheng Huiyuan turned back to everyone with a cold face: "You guys, follow me in to collect grain!"

"Whoever dares to break into a private house, I will beat him out with a stick!" Kong Sheng yelled.

Faced with his yelling and scolding, the villagers were too frightened to come forward, but Cheng Huiyuan rushed directly inside.

He has his own reasons for doing things. In his opinion, he is helping the court collect taxes, and Kong Sheng should also pay taxes. That is not about breaking into private houses, but... "Do it!"

Suddenly, Kong Sheng couldn't hold back his temper any longer. He grabbed the stick and signaled the servants to beat Cheng Huiyuan out.

These servants were all in their thirties and forties and had no idea whether it was illegal or not. So as soon as Kong Sheng gave the order, they swarmed up and beat Cheng Huiyuan out with big sticks.

"Kong Sheng, do you dare to hit an official?!"

Cheng Huiyuan did not expect that Kong Sheng would really dare to take action. You must know that the current situation is that Kong Sheng refuses to pay taxes.

"I told you, this land is a land gift from Duke Yansheng's mansion. Let's see who dares to force me to pay taxes."

Kong Sheng was arrogant. Cheng Huiyuan held his forehead, which was broken by a wooden stick, and immediately stumbled towards the carriage with the support of the villagers.

"Master, I'm afraid this guy has to go to the government office and the military camp."

When the manager saw Cheng Huiyuan's actions, he immediately reminded him vaguely. After all, he knew that his own land was indeed included in the tax list.

"Okay..." When Kong Sheng saw this, he gritted his teeth and immediately whispered to the manager.

The boss was startled by what he said, but nodded anyway.

Not long after, Cheng Huiyuan drove away in a carriage, and the villagers also dispersed.

Shortly after Cheng Huiyuan left, three figures also walked out of the back door of the Kong Mansion, riding horses and chasing in the direction where Cheng Huiyuan left.

A few days later, Wang Er, a farmer from Ningyang County who went out to farm, found Cheng Huiyuan drowned in the Gufu River and quickly reported it to the Ningyang Qianhusuo military camp stationed nearby.

The matter was reported at all levels, and soon it was brought to the Chief Envoy of Shandong.

At the same time as the incident spread, Shandong's Xichang Household Office also received the news and obtained the records of Ningyang County's marriage.

"Uuuuuu——"

A few days later, as the whistle sounded, a train slowly approached on the horizon.

Its speed is not fast, even the carriages on the official road not far from the railway can keep up with its speed.

As it slowly slowed down and successfully entered a platform, a man in his forties with a short beard and a regular fifth-grade uniform walked out of the carriage and glanced at the platform.

Looking at the high-hanging [Jining Station] sign, the man's face was relatively relaxed, but at this time, a military attache in the team wearing a regular sixth-grade uniform came out and bowed:
"Qianhu, brothers have investigated the matter clearly."

"Cheng Huiyuan did not commit suicide this time, but committed homicide. His carriage was by the roadside, but the horses were nowhere to be seen."

"After the brothers visited Qingchuan County, they learned that Cheng Huiyuan asked local wealthy Kong Sheng to pay taxes and grain a few days before his death. Kong Sheng not only refused, but also beat Cheng Huiyuan."

"Cheng Huiyuan ran to Yanzhou Mansion in a fit of anger, apparently wanting to find the Yanzhou Mansion Office."

"Farmers who were present at the time said that Kong Sheng took out the handwriting of Ningyang County Magistrate, but there was no handwriting on the body. It was obviously searched."

"There are various signs that Cheng Huiyuan's death was probably caused by Kong Sheng..."

The military attache opened his mouth and told Qianhu the purpose of coming here. Qianhu heard the words and said softly: "How is Cheng Huiyuan like this?"

"He was a rare good official. Upon hearing the news of his death, many people in Qingchuan Village donated money to collect his body and transport it back to his hometown of Jilin..."

"Where are you talking about?" Qian Huguan interrupted the military attache. The military attache paused and said, "Jilin County, Jilin Prefecture."

"This is a serious matter." After hearing this, Qian Huguan felt a little headache and raised his hand:

"The evidence is preserved. I will report this matter to the capital commander. I'm afraid my uncle will have to personally investigate."

"This..." The military attache did not expect that the matter would be serious enough to report to his uncle, so he quickly bowed.

Upon seeing this, Qianhu officials quickly ordered people to send the news and evidence back to Beijing.

A few days later, as the whistle sounded again, this time it was no longer an ordinary official who stepped out of the train car, but Muyang Bohu Lun, who was wearing a robe of robe.

Hundreds of Xichang warriors wearing black military uniforms and carrying long swords walked down the train station and formed two rows. Hu Lun, who was over fifty years old, looked very young, with black hair and beard, but his expression was not good-looking.

He walked out of the carriage and turned his attention to Qian Huguan who was kneeling on the ground.

"Tell me……"

Hu Lun had a gloomy face, and the Qianhu official had no choice but to tell the story about Cheng Huiyuan.

When everything was understood, Hu Lun immediately clenched his fists.

Although he has been grasping for leverage in the Kong family, if the leverage is too big, there is a danger that it will backfire on him.

Cheng Huiyuan's death was a serious risk.

"Uncle, there is one more thing that I don't know whether I should say..."

"Say!"

Qian Huguan hesitated, but Hu Lun looked directly at him and asked him to explain everything.

"Cheng Huiyuan is the posthumous son of a martyr who died in the Jixiguan battle during the Hongwu period, and it is a single biography..."

"What did you say?" Even Hu Lun felt that things were a bit too difficult now.

Officials, Bohai, Jixiguan martyrs' posthumous sons, single biography...

These four words are really more serious than the last. If one of them is not handled well, I am afraid that even he will be reprimanded.

Taking a deep breath, Hu Lun looked at a commander beside him: "How is the investigation of the Kong Mansion going?"

The commanding officer bowed and responded: "We have already checked it out. The Confucius Mansion occupied a huge number of acres. In addition, the Mansion did privately record stone carvings that slandered Emperor Taizu Gao. The content of the stone carvings did contain descriptions that disparaged Emperor Taizu Gao."

Zhu Yuanzhang once summoned the descendants of Confucius, and the records of the conversation have been preserved. There are two versions of this conversation, one is the official version of the Ming court, and the other is the stone version privately carved by the Confucius family.

Although there is no difference in content between the two versions, in the official version Zhu Yuanzhang's words are very elegant, but in the Confucian version, Zhu Yuanzhang speaks plainly, with the tone of an old country farmer.

According to court records, Zhu Yuanzhang was quite sarcastic when facing the descendants of the Confucian family, implying that the Confucian family was ignorant and incompetent.

Obviously, although he tried to be polite in his words, he had no respect for the descendants of the Confucius family at all.

This is not surprising, Zhu Yuanzhang was originally from a poor peasant background, and it is certain that he hated scholar-bureaucrats in his heart. Even if he became emperor and needed to win over these people, this disgust could not be concealed. It was considered a class nature.

Similarly, the descendants of the Confucius family also looked down upon Zhu Yuanzhang, so they deliberately retained Zhu Yuanzhang's original vernacular text, obviously to ridicule Zhu Yuanzhang's vulgar language.

Chinese scholar-officials like to say that they do not value the origins of others, but in reality they do. After all, the foundation of the social system that scholar-officials rely on is itself a strict hierarchy.

In their eyes, Zhu Yuanzhang was a bad example of someone who turned his back on himself and became emperor.

Therefore, this stone carving has been treasured and unknown to outsiders.

But the problem is that while others don't know about this stone tablet, Zhu Gaoxu knows it clearly.

This stone tablet was not a secret in later generations. Many people would bring this stone tablet out when they were mocking the Confucius family, and they had the nerve to mock Zhu Yuanzhang for his vulgar language.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu told Hu Lun about this matter very early, and Hu Lun has been investigating. Now that the investigation is clear, he does not want Cheng Huiyuan to die suddenly, and the murderer has a close relationship with the Kong family.

Thinking of this, Hu Lun could only bite the bullet and order: "Send an order to detain Kong Sheng, conduct a thorough investigation of Kong's house, and send the news back to the capital to see how His Majesty decides..."

Although he said it was up to His Highness to make the decision, Hu Lun knew very well that the Kong Mansion would probably be completely overthrown this time.

Not many people participated in the bloody battle at Jixiguan, and even fewer people can be called martyrs.

To put it bluntly, Cheng Huiyuan's father might be His Majesty, or an old subordinate of Fu Rang, Zhang Chun, Wang Yi, Lin Su and others.

The posthumous son of an old subordinate was doing things according to rules, but he was intercepted and killed. The key is that he was a single child and had no heirs.

In other words, this old subordinate is completely dead.

If these conditions are put together, not to mention the Confucius Mansion, even a country will be destroyed.

Hu Lun swallowed hard. Now he could only control the people in the Kong Mansion and wait for His Majesty's decree.

Under his orders, the news was quickly sent to Beijing by train.

It was early the next morning when Zhu Gaojiu received the news. Originally, this day was the day for the court meeting once every ten days. However, as the news was delivered to Zhu Gaojiu, he no longer thought about the court meeting.

"Are you sure he is the posthumous son of a martyr and a single person with no heirs..."

Zhu Gaoxu's voice was slightly trembling, not because he was uncomfortable, but because he was trying to suppress his anger.

"He is the posthumous son of a martyr. He is also a single descendant and has no heirs... In addition..." Yishiha hesitated, and after a moment he said:
"Cheng Huiyuan's mother is still alive. If we suddenly learn this news, I'm afraid..."

"Okay!" Zhu Gaoxu took a deep breath, his expression was very ugly, and his face was as gloomy as if it could drip water.

"First, in the name of Cheng Huiyuan Gaosheng, give his mother some money and food. This money will be allocated from internal funds."

"Also, tell Hu Lun to investigate and characterize the case immediately. My people will not die in vain!"

Zhu Gaoxu rarely said "my people", and his anger was evident.

Yi Shiha quickly agreed, but after he agreed, he couldn't help but worry: "But Your Majesty... if you take action against the Confucius Mansion at this critical point, I'm afraid the ministers will have objections."

"A bunch of croaking guys, officials were killed, shouldn't they be punished with treason?"

Although Zhu Gaoxu had no expression and his tone was very calm, Yi Shiha felt a little scared when he heard it.

"It is my decree that if the case is determined, the nine clans of Kong and Sheng will be implicated."

"If Yan Shenggong Kong Yanjin is also involved in this matter, let Hu Lun take care of it. If he doesn't handle it well, then I will ask who is Cheng Huiyuan's father and whether they still remember it. Remember that I have such a general!"

(End of this chapter)